Sounding toy



L. R. KELLER Aug. 25, 1936.

SOUNDING TOY Filed Feb; 15, 1956 INVENTOR Lewa's R, KQZZQJ ATTORNEYS WITNESSES gru-f Patented Aug. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to musical toys, and has for an object to provide an improved and simplied construction wherein soundingV members and a pick coacting therewith are positioned to be 5 readily actuated to produce different sounds as the toy is actuated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sounding toy wherein sounding strings and a pick used for actuating the strings are employed, the parts being so arranged that the pick may be actuated in either of two directions so that a given string may be sounded more than once before sounding any adjacent string.

An additional and further object of the in- 15 vention is to provide a sounding toy inv which sounding cups or drums are provided at the respective ends of the toy.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the sounding toy disclosing an embodiment of the invention, part of the casing being shown broken away;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through Fig. 1, the same being on a slightly enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through Fig. 2, approximately on the line 3-3;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through Fig. 3, approximately on the line 4-4.

Referring to the accompanying drawing by numerals, I and 2 indicate the ends of the toy, said ends being formed of ber, wood, metal, or other material, and to these ends are secured metallic sounding cups or drums 3 and 4. Preferably the ends I and 2 are of greater diameter than the drums 3 and 4, so that when the sheet body or casing 5 is placed in position it can act as a spacer for holding taut the various strings or wires 6, 'I, 8 and 9. The casing 5 may be fiber, wood, metal, or other material, and is made of the correct size to space the ends a proper distance apart to hold the wires 6 to 9, inclusive, under proper tension. As illustrated particularly in Figs. l and 4, the respective drums 3 and 4 are provided with spurs I extending through the respective ends and then clinched holding the parts together. As the respective ends and associated parts are identical in structure, a description of one will apply to both.

As illustrated in Fig. 1 the drum 4 is provided with cutaway portions II and I2. Each of these portions is cut away so as to present notches I3 and I4. The respective wires 6 to 9 inclusive are positioned to extend through these notches, as shown in Fig. l. The wires 6 and 1 really are 55 formed from a continuous wire being joined by (Cl. llik-174') welding or other means at a desired point. The drum 4 is formed with beads I5 and I6 which taper from the top to the bottom as shown in Fig. 2 and over which part of the respective wires extends as illustrated in Fig. 4. These beads, in 5 a certain sense, act as bridges for the wires. By reason of the taper of these bridges, the upper and lower wires, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, are of slightly different lengths and by adjusting these wires so that they Will have different tension, l0 each wire, as shown in Fig. l, will have a different tone, whereby there will be four different sounds made when the pick I'I is given one complete rotation. If it should occur that the respective wiresb` and I produce the same pitch, one of these l5 wires could be stretched manually slightly without moving that portion of the wires passing over the bridges I5 and I6. This stretching action would loosen the wires slightly and thereby produce a lower pitch. The friction of the various parts would hold the wires against shifting and, consequently, the wires 6 and 'I will have different pitches.

The pick I'I is provided with a central rod or bar I8 to which the pick body I9 is secured by 25 suitable clutch members 20 and 2|. The bar I8 is provided with reduced portions 22 at the respective ends so that it may extend through the ends I and 2 and be rotatably mounted. One end of the rod or bar I8 is provided with a crank 23 which when turned will cause the pick I1 to move and the body I9 to engage the respective Wires and then snapped by the Wires whereby a sound is produced. By reason of the reversely positioned clutches 20 and 2| the pick I`I will 35 properly function when rotated in either direction, thus permitting anyone to pick a single wire several times or pick the various wires in succession. The casing 5 may be made in any desired number of parts but is preferably a piece of cardboard or fiber wrapped around the drums 3 and 4 and held in its wrapped position by adheslve or in any other desired manner.

I claim:

1. A sounding toy comprising a pair of end members, a sounding drum connected with each end member, sounding wires connected to said sounding drums, a rotatable rod carried by the end members, a resilient pick carried by said rod and positioned to engage successively said wires as the pick is revolved, right and left clutches for said pick for alternately gripping said rod so that the pick will be rotated with the rod in either direction, and a hand actuated member connected to said rod for revolving said pick.

drum to the other and positioned to be engaged Y byrsaid pick, and a protecting and spacing casing carried by said drums and engaging said end members. A

3. A sounding toy comprising' apair of end members, a sounding drum'. carried by each end member, a tubular casing surrounding said drums and the space therebetween and abutting said end members for holding said drums spaced apart, a plurality of sounding wires carried by said drums and extending from one drum to the other, said casing maintaining said drums a suiiicient distance apart to keep said Wires. under tension, a rod extending from one end member to the other having its ends rotatably mounted in said end members, a hand actuated crank co-nnected to said rod at oneY end for rotating the rod, and a pick adjustably mounted on said rod positioned to engage said Wiresas it is turned, said pick being adapted to be rotated in either of tWo directions so that o-ne of Said Wiresv may be caused to function several times in succession.

4. A sounding toy comprising a pair ofV end members, a rotatable rod carried by said members, a rotatable pick carried by said rod, right and left clutches `for said pick for alternately gripping said rod so that the pick will rotate with the rod in either direction, a drum carried by each of said end members, a casing engaging the end members for spacing said drums apart, each of said drums having a pairof slanting spaced bridges and a plurality of pairs of wires carried by said drums, each pair of Wires having a portion extending across the respective bridges, the slant of the bridges causing said Wires to have their. pitch changed as the Wires are adjustable along the bridges. v

5. A sounding toy comprising a pair of end members, a rotatable lrod carried by said end members, a pick carried by said rod, right and left vvclutches for said pick for alternately gripping said rod so that the pick will rotate with the'rod in either direction, a drum carried by each-of the end members, each of said drums having a pair of substantially parallel pressedout'portions presenting inclined bridges, Wires extending from one sounding drum to the other, said wires extending across said bridges, .and a casing engaging said end members for spacing the samel sui'eiently to maintain the wires under tension, said Wires being positioned to be engaged and caused to function by said pick.

jA'sounding toy comprising a pair of resonant end members, a plurality of pairs of endless. sounding strings connecting said end members, a rod rotatably mounted in said end members and'extending to af point exteriorly of one end member, a hand actuated member for rotating said rod, a pick carried by said rod adapted to engage said strings to cause the strings to function', and right and left clutches for said pick for alternately gripping said rod so that the pick will rotate with the rod in either direction.

LEWIS R. KELLER. 

